Maia Song Contest 9

The Maia Song Contest 9 was the ninth edition of the Maia Song Contest. It was held in Arkaystia following their victory in the previous edition. Fronezenchya returned to the contest whilst Greenforest and Santa Del Vana made their debut. The contest was held in the Mwangi Arena. Famed spokesperson Courtney Stodden was revealed as the main host of the event, backed up by her co-host Nick Noonan. TV personality Jessica "Sugar" Kiper acted as green room host. The contest was won by Izola with the song “Samaritan”.

Location
NTA and the MBU announced the conditions under which cities and venues could announce their interest in hosting the contest.


 * The host city had to be near a major airport.
 * The venue must be available for the rehearsal period before the contest and one week after the conclusion of the contest
 * The venue must not be open-air, but an air-conditioned building with a capacity of at least 10,000 and a minimum ceiling height of 15 metres (49 ft), insulated for sound and light.
 * The green room must be located as close to the arena as possible (or within it), with a capacity of 300.

Host venue

Semi Final 1
Arkaystia, Perlamuhay and Rraegvoerrgh voted in this semi-final.

A playlist can be found here. A recap can be found here.

The full scoreboard can be found here.

Semi Final 2
Prudhomme and Temekylopia voted in this semi-final.

A playlist can be found here. A recap can be found here.

A scoreboard can be found here.

Grand Final
A playlist can be found here. A recap can be found here.

A scoreboard can be found here.


 * 1) As the hosts of the contest, Arkaystia were randomly allocated to perform 16th.

Voting and spokespersons

 * Sofi Marinova
 * Kim Chi (Presenter of the first edition)
 * Erlend Bratland
 * Bonnie McKee
 * Niurka Marcos
 * Princess Peach
 * Anthony Padilla
 * Sam Pang
 * Machine Gun Kelly
 * Sandra Bullock
 * Boy George
 * Machine Gun Kelly
 * Sandra Bullock
 * Boy George
 * Boy George


 * Ja'mie King
 * Lola Tish
 * Seeb
 * Princess Matilde of Matildefjord
 * Dodie Clark
 * Holly Willoughby
 * Adna (Loafousian representative in the eighth edition)
 * Aubry Jean
 * Jeremy Davies
 * Wynter Gordon
 * Alodia Gosiengfiao
 * Kida (Oxenri representative in the seventh edition)
 * Ryn Weaver (Papapvertellan representative in the third edition)
 * Oliver Dion (Perlamuhan representative in the eighth edition)
 * Ella Nor
 * Antony's Mum
 * Sofia Reyes
 * Jolin Tsai
 * Hanna Widerstedt
 * JOWST
 * Rebecca Mader & Simone Simons (Valerian representative in the Maia Song Contest 6, 7 & 8 as part of the band EPICA)
 * Enya
 * Lee Lin Chin
 * JOWST
 * Rebecca Mader & Simone Simons (Valerian representative in the Maia Song Contest 6, 7 & 8 as part of the band EPICA)
 * Enya
 * Lee Lin Chin
 * Lee Lin Chin

Greenforest entry confusion
On the 7 May 2017, during the broadcast of a semi-final recap, the Greenforestian entry for Maia Song Contest 9, "Left Of You", was replaced in the recap with Eclipses For Eyes' song "Sharks". This was quickly acknowledged by several news outlets across Maia, and was promptly fixed by the MBU. The MBU also released a statement shortly after, stating "We don't know what happened with the recap, we did not mean to play the wrong song. We are very sorry about this incident, and we wish the artists and country the best of luck in their debut at the Maia Song Contest 9".

Rraegvoerrghi choreography change
It surfaced days after the conclusion of the ninth contest that Rraegvoerrghi contestant Bua Loy originally intended to use a different combination of staging and choreography, though it was reportedly rejected by the MBU for being 'too disturbing to younger audiences'. The singer took to social media to criticise the organisation, claiming that her original 'thought-provoking' performance would have given Rraegvoerrgh a better final placement. An MBU spokesperson responded to these comments, stating that 'it is important for the contest to be accessable by all Maians across the world, including young people', then referring to the rejected staging concept as 'deeply disturbing and unsuitable for family viewing'.

Other countries
Eligibility for potential participation in the Maia Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active MBU membership that would be able to broadcast the contest. The MBU will issue an invitation of participation in the contest to all active members.

Active MBU countries

 * Amsok - It was assumed that Amsok would be competing in Maia Song Contest 9, after competing in every edition since the second edition, however, they weren't on the final list of participants on the 25th of April, with no statement being given by the MBU or ABC.
 * Arendelle - It was revealed by the MBU on the 25th of April that Madriz (MDZ, host broadcaster of Maia Song Contest in Arendelle) did not submit a request to compete in Maia Song Contest 9, and thus did not appear on the final list of participants.
 * Cordence - On the 23rd of April, it was leaked that Cordence Broadcasting Service (CBS) is considering pulling out of the contest, due to bad results and lack of interest. On the 25th of April, it was revealed that Cordence was not on the final list of participants.
 * Usofa - Usofa's participation was uncertain as no information was given in regards to the country's continuation in the contest from their national broadcaster when all others had. It was confirmed on the 25th of April that they were not on the final list of participating countries.

MBU non-members

 * Galatia - On the 1st of April 2017, it was said that Galatia was going to debut in Maia Song Contest 9, after previously failing to select an entry in the first edition of Maia Song Contest. However, on the 2nd of April 2017, it was revealed that this was an april fools joke.
 * Dayastad - On the 2nd of April 2017, the Eternal Paramount Empress of the unrecognized country, Daya, announced her desire to compete in the ninth edition of the Maia Song Contest, and will apply on behalf of the Dayastader State Broadcasting Corporation (DSBC) for full MBU membership. Lussantia already announced that it will veto Dayastad's participation in the contest, as the country claims an internationally-recognized Lussantian territory.